Intermediate/Advanced Weekend (Snowshoeing) Backpacking to Laurel Fork!

OVERVIEW

Whoops! Trip Canceled!

Come join Becca (one of the cook’s outstanding cooks) and me for a backpacking trip this weekend! We’ll convene at 4pm on Friday, pack up at Becca’s, and head towards West Virginia and backpack/hike/camp at Laurel Fork.

Some info about the area is at
http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/SlabcampRunLocustSpring/
http://www.hikingupward.com/GWNF/LaurelFork/

All details of this trip are variable. We will use our best judgment when we get there as to exactly which trails to take, etc. Weather-wise, it will be cold, and it will likely snow. We hope to snowshoe, so it’s legitimate to say that we are going because of and not in spite of the weather…

That said, distance for the weekend will likely be 10-13 miles. Our packs will be heavier, and if we’re using snowshoes, the going will be *tough*. Because of all this, I’m going to limit the ratio of inexperienced to experienced people.

We’ll meet at Echols, go to Becca’s to pack up our backpacks and make everyone’s clear on things and then head out… If you have questions, let me know as soon as possible.

Club provides:
-A ride there and back again. (Gas + 30% for drivers)
-Hot food and drink. (Saturday Sunday – Sunday lunch, some snacks, hot cocoa and tea, great coffee)
-Gear. (Backpacks, sleeping bags, tents, headlamps, water filter, cooking stuff.)

You provide:
-Warm, warm clothes. No cotton. None. That means no denim, no jeans.
-Good footwear. (I recommend good shoes and wool socks. And spare socks. There will be stream crossings. A spare pair of shoes for the car is a great idea since your feet will be wet.)
-Rain gear. (Uhmm… just in case.)
-Things to eat on and with.
-Water bottles/containers. (At least enough space for 2 liters.)
-Toiletries (We’re not going to shower, but you don’t want to get a weird nickname because you smell like the lox bagel you had for breakfast.)
-Maybe some money for Food on the way back.

You can earn your Completely Unofficial Meritorious Badges (CUMBs) of Being Quite Very Cold, Starting a Fire in the Snow and/or Quite Very Cold, and Snowshoeing with a Pack.

Drivers and more experienced folks get off the waitlist first. Folks who have been waitlisted for my previous trips get some, small subjective amount of preference.
http://www.backpacking.net/wintertips.html